Wedding for the ages bests snowstorm of the century

After a combined 173 years on Earth, it's probably no surprise that Elizabeth “Betty” Spratt Robbins and Clesson Robbins didn't get too worked up over the Friday night snowstorm.

With all that perspective and a little adaptability, the couple, both residents of the Briarwood retirement community off East Mountain Street, got married Saturday afternoon almost exactly as they planned to.

“It all worked out,” Mrs. Robbins said.

Mrs. Spratt Robbins, 81, and Mr. Robbins, 92, had planned for the ceremony to take place at Salem Covenant Church, right down the street from Briarwood. But the magnitude of the snowstorm that struck the area made the distance seem a lot longer, so with the help of family and staff at Briarwood, the couple moved the ceremony to Briarwood, where the reception had already been scheduled.

“We knew that if we got some snow it was not far from Briarwood for the reception,” Mrs. Spratt Robbins said. “We were never thinking it was going to be this kind of storm.”

It certainly was that kind of storm, and Salem Covenant Church pastor Mark Frykholm, who was scheduled to officiate the wedding, was stuck in Mexico. Mrs. Spratt Robbins said he let them know late in the week that flights were being canceled and he might not make it.

Luckily, for several of his 16 years at Briarwood, Mr. Robbins lived next door to a retired pastor, Roscoe Robison. The two became good friends over the years, and Rev. Robison, who said his last wedding as an American Baptist pastor was for his granddaughter's wedding in South Carolina 13 years ago, said he was honored to preside over the ceremony in Rev. Frykholm's place.

“In baseball, they would call it a pinch-hitter,” Rev. Robison said.

Mrs. Spratt Robbins said she had the flowers for the wedding delivered Friday, and since the organist hired for the ceremony wouldn't be there, family members improvised; Mrs. Spratt Robbins said her granddaughter hooked up an iPod to a stereo which provided music for the ceremony and reception.

“At the reception we had Sinatra and songs of our era playing,” Mrs. Spratt Robbins said.

The couple tied the knot at 3:30 p.m., and Mrs. Spratt Robbins said the reception, which included 19 family members — including four generations of her family — wrapped up around 8.

Mrs. Spratt Robbins, a longtime secretary and library assistant who grew up in Uxbridge and who was married 55 years when her husband died, said her wedding is the first wedding at the retirement community between two residents who met there.

“I met him about three years ago,” she said. “We would get together for musical programs here, and we just gravitated toward each other. He's a wonderful person, and an exceptional gentleman.”

Mr. Robbins, a World War II veteran who worked 35 years at American Optical Co. in Southbridge, was married 53 years when his wife died.

“We have many mutual interests,” Mr. Robbins said. “She is probably one of the most considerate and compassionate people I've ever met.”

They both shared a strong Christian faith, and true to traditions, Mrs. Spratt Robbins said that if she was going to be living with Mr. Robbins, she wanted to be married to him.

“I am a daughter of a minister, and I believe in marriage, and that's basically it,” Mrs. Spratt Robbins said.

Mr. Robbins, who will move into his wife's residence at the retirement community, agreed with his wife that they were both committed to getting married.

“We ultimately decided that at our age it was now or never, so we decided to get married,” Mr. Robbins said.

Rev. Robison said the whole experience was fun, and said his wife commented that the entire Briarwood community seems “lifted up” about the marriage.

“They have come together in a new life, and it's exciting,” he said.

Rev. Robison, who was ordained almost 65 years ago, said he had a good feeling about the couple's wedding.

“They're just an exceptional couple,” he said. “They were of a mind to proceed on through. Not even that blizzard was going to throw them off track.”

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